Verona holds informational meeting for proposed sewer district

VERONA - More than 100 people turned out for the second informational meeting regarding the proposed sewer district in the hamlet of Verona.

Following a brief presentation by engineers from Barton & Loguidice (the Syracuse firm handling the design of the project) covering the basics of the project, Town Supervisor Owen Waller opened the floor for questions - first, answering some common ones he has heard over the past few weeks.

Among them, Waller assured the crowd that their property assessments or taxes would not go up as a result of the sewer system being approved. Also, Waller said that residents should not expect the infrastructure to be an immediate magnet for business and residential development causing the hamlet to be built up or commercialized, which would be a negative in the minds of many residents.

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The hamlet is going to stay a hamlet. It's just going to be a cleaner hamlet, Waller said. The supervisor has been a longtime advocate of bringing sanitary sewerage to all parts of the town of Verona to improve the quality of life for residents.

The project would bring sewer service to 426 Verona properties from the New York State Thruway to Country Drive and from state Route 365 to the CSX Railroad tracks. The sewage would be treated by the city of Oneida.

The scope of work would total about $6.8 million. However, Town Councilman Fritz Scherz noted that that figure is Barton & Loguidice's estimate. If the proposal comes to fruition and contractors bid on the project, bids might come in for lower than that cost.

Waller said the project would be funded through a $1.1 million federal grant from the Environmental Protection Agency, a $500,000 state grant from Empire State Development Corp. and the remaining would be paid for using a 38-year USDA rural development loan with a 2.75-percent interest rate.

He added that the town is also continuing to seek more grants for funding project.

Annual user costs include a $529 sewer district debt service cost, $36 fee for town operation and maintenance and $153 fee for city of Oneida Waste Water Treatment Operation and Maintenance.

Hamlet residents would also need to pay a one-time fee of about $1,000 to connect to the sewer line and to fill their old septic tank, as required by the state Department of Health.

While some residents expressed worry over the cost of the project that they would have to pay out of pocket. Hamlet resident Deb Haeger was optimistic. She feels that if one sets aside $10 each week for the next two years, at the end, they would have enough money to cover their cost to hook into the system and pay for the first year of debt service and fees.

If approved, construction would take place between late 2013 and 2015, with user connections taking place between the spring of 2015 and spring of 2017.This isn't the first recent attempt to bring sewers to a part of the town that has none.

In October, a proposal that would have created a Durhamville sewer district was voted down. Waller explains that by New York State law, there are two ways for a sewer district to be created. One method is if 51 percent of the residents in the proposed district sign petitions to the affirmative; the other is a vote.

When trying to create the Durhamville sewer district, officials held a vote.

With this project, they opted to try petitions. Between now and March, the town plans to circulate petitions. If the petitions are successful, the next steps would be design, bidding and construction

Scherz added that time is a factor. The $1.1 million grant from the EPA carries a stipulation that the money must be used by Dec. 31, 2013 or be returned.

The Town of Verona currently has three existing sewer districts: Sconondoa, Route 365 and Verona Beach.